Barry Trotter (Book 1)
The Hogwash School for Wizards was the most famous school in the wizarding world, and Barry Trotter was its most famous student. His mere presence made sure that every year twenty candidates applied for every open spot, no matter how rapacious Hogwash's tuition became. As a result, Barry and the school had come to an unspoken agreement: regardless of his grades, Barry could remain at Hogwash for as long as he wished. He had just begun his eleventh year...Freshman
Sleepy with boredom and gassy from lunch, Hart Fox sat in the hard plastic chair outside his dean's office. A kid walked in the door, pink detention slip in hand, bobbing his head a little so that the purple spikes of his mohawk didn't get bent on the transom. He slumped down next to Hart. Hart nodded--he remembered tis joker from sophomore American History, constantly arguing in favor of anarcho-syndicalism. Was his name Henry?...Sophomore
Arcing lazily through the air, the Frisbee smacked against the window. “Ooo-oo!” a chiseled and shirtless boy teased as it wobbleplummeted to the ground. “Sarah's in troub-le!”The beauty-boy was righter than he knew: Of all the windows on campus to hit, this one was the worst. It belonged to Stutts’ Professor of Clandestine Affairs, Glenbard North, who had destroyed more students than there were blades of grass on the freshly resodded Old Quad below...Coming Soon!
All you really gotta know is, I'm writing new things constantly and the more I write, the better my books get. So if you've read my earlier work--and millions of you have--we should keep in touch. This fall, at least one and maybe two new books will be available: a Dickens parody AND a comic mystery loosely based on The Beatles. Drop me an email at mikesnewbooks[at]gmail[dot]com, and I'll be sure to let you know release dates, special deals, etc.Wednesday, May 12, 2004
Meet Gary Clarke...
This morning, I had a lovely conversation with a friend from The Yale Record, Gerald Clarke '59. He's written a fascinating biography of Truman Capote ("Capote"), and, more recently, Judy Garland ("Get Happy"). Really good stuff, if you're interested in either figure. This Fall, he's coming out with a collection of Capote's correspondence, which I'm sure will be just as excellent. For those who love to surf, his website is here.
Monday, May 10, 2004
Another week begins...
...and there's so many links to pass along. First, I noted with sadness the death of Alan King, who I worked with for a bit back in 2001. He was a real gentleman to me, even though it was clear that he was frankly befuddled by the concept of a comedy writer named Gerber who was not only a gentile, but a Midwestern one at that. A nice, very funny man, and I was glad to know him.
The New York Times disgorged something else worth linking to today--an article on literary readings. I noted with pleasure that my old pal John Hodgman was featured prominently. My own relationship with the "reading-as-performance" phenomenon is mixed; NOT having to perform is sorta why I decided to be a comedy writer--as opposed to a standup. Readings-as-performances reward writers with a gift for self-promotion, rather than a gift for writing; furthermore, I wonder if they actually sell books as much as create a very high-schoolish cult of personality. I experienced both of these negatives in my dealings with the Eggers crowd in the late 90s, and all I can say is, yuck. Yuck, yuck, yuck.
Yesterday was "Rampant Beatlemania," on WXRT radio here in Chicago, and I enjoyed it thoroughly. The DJ, Terri Hemmert, has been the patron saint of Chicago Beatles fans for decades, and she always plays a lot of interesting tracks--live stuff, outtakes, interesting solo stuff. Speaking of The Beatles (and when am I not?), Beatle Brain of Britain Mark Lewisohn has just signed a huge book deal to write a huge multi-volume biography of the group. I can't wait--but I'll have to; the first volume's not due until 2008!
The New York Times disgorged something else worth linking to today--an article on literary readings. I noted with pleasure that my old pal John Hodgman was featured prominently. My own relationship with the "reading-as-performance" phenomenon is mixed; NOT having to perform is sorta why I decided to be a comedy writer--as opposed to a standup. Readings-as-performances reward writers with a gift for self-promotion, rather than a gift for writing; furthermore, I wonder if they actually sell books as much as create a very high-schoolish cult of personality. I experienced both of these negatives in my dealings with the Eggers crowd in the late 90s, and all I can say is, yuck. Yuck, yuck, yuck.
Yesterday was "Rampant Beatlemania," on WXRT radio here in Chicago, and I enjoyed it thoroughly. The DJ, Terri Hemmert, has been the patron saint of Chicago Beatles fans for decades, and she always plays a lot of interesting tracks--live stuff, outtakes, interesting solo stuff. Speaking of The Beatles (and when am I not?), Beatle Brain of Britain Mark Lewisohn has just signed a huge book deal to write a huge multi-volume biography of the group. I can't wait--but I'll have to; the first volume's not due until 2008!
Friday, May 7, 2004
Barry 2 in Germany, and other heroes...
Young Trottermaniac/internet hound Simon has found the cover of BT2 in Germany.
And I found this site, a roundup of the world's non-U.S. superheroes.
And I found this site, a roundup of the world's non-U.S. superheroes.
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